318ti Ignition Coil issues?

[BMW_Hatchback]

So i just bought a M-tech manual ti this past tuesday. It has 116 K on it. When we took it home, it drove perfectly. When we got home, my dad rinsed the motor off with a hose(not quite the smartest idea I thought so too). So the following morning, we tried to take it out, and the check engine light came on, it misfires when I rev past 2000 RPM. We are thinking water got on the ignition coil, or into something else. I am not finding any answer anywhere else. I am going to buy the reader got 1996 BMWs and higher to see what the problem is, but I'm just hoping it won't be a big issue. Any suggestions? Plus, after this, my factory keyless entry system only activates alarm, and doesn't lock/unlock. See that in the other forums.

[pdxmotorhead]

Pull the spark plug wires and check in the plug gallies, you likely have them full of water, FYI NEVER spray water under a BMW hood. One of the few weaknesses of the BMW's seems to be there are areas under the hood that just weren't designed with spray in mind. Sparkplugs, ECU cavity, AIr vents etc.... ONce you really know your way around under there you can gently rinse certain areas but avoid the top of the engine...

Dave

[BMW_Hatchback]

Thank you Dave. When we opened the plug gallies, the old 4 spark plugs had unburned gas on them, that made them appear to be pitch black. So we replaced the spark plugs and still won't rev past 2000-2500 RPM. My dad has the impression that he may have gotten water on the Ignition coil. We are going to look at it today(Saturday) Hopefully with the reader for 96 bimmers and up. We know that we have to replace the temperature censor, but hopefully not the ignition coil. Anymore suggestions?

[BMW_Hatchback]

Alright, it turns out that my dad and might have the solution. All of the wiring in the engine bay are sealed tight so water wouldn't have gotten in them. But water may have gotten in the BAD spark plug wires. We seperated them and then it was successfull to rev the motor up a bit to get it in gear. So we are going to replace the spark plugs, replace the thermastat, and fill'her up and take her down I-95 for a good spins. Feel free to reply with any suggestions we always need em.

[pdxmotorhead]

The ECm is on the passenger side behind the battery, it has a name for getting drowned... There is a writeup on removing it and resealing the case on one of the BMW forums. I mean to do this in a few weeks when the weather turns nice...

Dave

[osu_ti]

Bump. Facing similar issues w/ my car right now. Engine misfires above 2000 rpm. Acts like a rev limiter set at 2k rpm. Idle seems fine. Throttle position doesn't matter. ECU housing area is dry. No water/oil in the spark plug holes. Cleaned the MAF w/ MAF cleaner but no change after that either.

Right before the 2k rev limit symptom started happening, the engine just started randomly cutting out at any rpm, but would shortly fire again after dropping a few hundred rpm. CEL came on and the code was a camshaft position sensor. So I replaced that with a new one. Next start up (and all subsequent starts), the engine won't rev past 2k rpm. The CEL is not on, but scanning the codes does still give the camshaft position sensor code.

OP, did you find the solution to your problem?

Anyone else have suggestions?

TIA!

[BMW_Hatchback]

Clearly your car is in limp mode because of the sensor. I've heard the sensors doesn't actually fail and that it's just a magnet.

Did you clear the codes?

My ultimate issue was we sprayed water on the engine and we let it dry out and it was normal again.

[osu_ti]

I cleared the camshaft position sensory code after replacing it. I'm thinking the next step is to check continuity between the connectors on the harness back to the ecu and see if anything is bad somewhere in between.

The car did sit outside in some heavy rain the weekend before the misfire/engine cut out symptoms started.

I've read a couple of places that sometimes the wheel on the end of the camshaft needs cleaned to help the sensor provide a good reading. Anyone have success by cleaning the wheel on the end of the cam?

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

Originally Posted by osu_ti

I cleared the camshaft position sensory code after replacing it. I'm thinking the next step is to check continuity between the connectors on the harness back to the ecu and see if anything is bad somewhere in between.

The car did sit outside in some heavy rain the weekend before the misfire/engine cut out symptoms started.

I've read a couple of places that sometimes the wheel on the end of the camshaft needs cleaned to help the sensor provide a good reading. Anyone have success by cleaning the wheel on the end of the cam?

NBo the camshaft trigger points are steel and I've not heard of them needing cleaning for a cam sensor error. Maybe if the oil was not changed for years and is all gummed up. Check the DME for water damage, that is where I would start

[familytruckster]

Mine said cam sensor, and it ended up being the crank sensor. I also had to replace the knock sensors because the insulation in the cables failed an shorted.

[spidertri]

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa...How many tis do you own now? 3? Is that a record on this site? How many did Tony have at once?

[BMW_Hatchback]

naw this is an old thread, still just 2

[spidertri]

Oh ..I was hoping you were becoming a ti collector. One with every E36 engine option.

[BMW_Hatchback]

Originally Posted by spidertri

Oh ..I was hoping you were becoming a ti collector. One with every E36 engine option.

im working on it